Continuous rotary beater



July 7, 1931. T. .1. MADIGAN CONTINUOUS ROTARY BEATER Filed Oct. 23. 1929 JWM/nto@ ZUl/YadL'ya/w,

alims* Patented July 7, 1931 THoMAs J. MADIGAN, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

CONTINUOUS ROTARY BEATR Application filed October 23, 1929. Serial No. L101,841.

The invention relates to a continuous rotary beater. i i

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of rotary beaters for beating eggs, Whipping cream, and similar operations, and to provide a simple, practical and efficient rotarybeater of strong, durable and comparatively inexpensive construction, y adapted to be operated by a vertically reciprocating motionfof one hand and capable of imparting a. continuous rotary movement in the same direction to aplurality of agitator members and at the same time enable the Y beater to be maintained by the pressure of the i5 handin a vertical orfinclined position so as to effectively operate on all portions of the contents of a vessel and in different parts of the same without liability of the device accidenf tally slipping, and at the same time leaving i the other hand of the operator free to supply the proper ingredients to the vessel.l

Wlith these and other objects inview, the invention consists in the'construction and I novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanyingl drawings, and set forth in the claims hereto appended, being understood that various changes in the form, proportion,

tion or sacrificing'any offthe advantages thereof.

In the drawings: v-

Figure l is aside elevation of a rotary beater constructed in accordance with this invention. Y Y l Y Fig. 2 is an enlarged-detail sectional View y illustrating the construction of the gearing 40' for converting the vertically reciprocating motion into a continuous rotary motion in thesame direction f Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail View, partly in section, of the b-racket and the gearing.y

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view illustrating the means for guiding the rack bar in its vertical reciprocation.

Fig. 5 is a detail View illustrating theman-V ner of mounting the rotary agitator members.

VIn the accompanying drawings, in which is i `and minor details of construction, within the 30 scope ofthe claims, may be resor;` ed to with-k out departing from the spirit ofthe invenillustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, ldesignates a bearing bracket de-h signed to be constructed of sheet metal or other suitable material and provided at opposite sides of its lowerk portion'with tubular beads or sleeves 2 for the reception of the upper ends of the sides of an approximately U-shaped frame 3 constructed of stout wire. or other suitable material and constituting a support for a pair of rotary agitator-,mem-y bers. The approximately U-shaped frame is composed of similar spaced lsides and a connecting portion 4, the sides being bowed ory curved outwardly at their lower port-ions at 5 to provide an approximately circular formation. The connecting portion 4, which is arranged at the lower end'of the frame. is Y straight, and is provided Vwith a central. de-y pending sharp pointed spur G adapted to rest upon the bottom of a vessel for supporting and fulcruming the beater to enable the same to be maintained either in a vertical position or in` an inclined position. The supporting spur 6, which fulcrums the device on the bottom of the` vessel, enablesthe operator to tilt.

the beater in any direction from a vertical positionbysiinply moving laterally the hand which is used for operating the beater. This will permit the beater to operate on all portions of the contents of the vessel and to operate in different parts thereof so as to thoroughly. beat the contents. The upper ends of the straight portions of the sides of the A frame 3 may be secured within they hollow beads 2 in any desired manner, but instead of connecting the sides of the frame to the bracket as shown and described, the frame and the bracket may be constructed in any other suitable manner for effecting connection of such parts.

Thel sides of the frame 3 have mounted on them the rotary agitator members 7, constructed of metal or other suitable material, and consisting of asubstantially circula-r lower portionS and spaced upper side portions 9 which are secured at'their upper ends to pinions 10 mounted on the sides of the frame contiguous to the bearing bracket andimmediv ately below the same. The circular port-ions 8 Ofthe rotary agitators are provided with f perforations 11 to receive the sides of the frame 3, and they are mounted on the same at the ends of the connecting` portion 4. This provides a lower bearing for the rotary agitator members, the pinions forming` upper bearings for the agitator members. By this construction, the rotary agitator members are journaled on the sides of the frame 3l at the top and Abottom thereof, and they are arranged to clear each other during their rotation and are maintained in proper relative position by the meshing of the pinions 10.

The pinions 10 are arranged in horizontal position when the beater is vertical, and one lw of the pinions meshes with a vertical gear wheel 12, which is mounted on a main hori- Zontal shaft 13 journaled in spaced bearings 14 of the frame. The bearings 14 are preferably formed by aligned ears which are located at opposite sides of the central portion of the bearing bracket. The bearing bracket is provided with a central opening 15 in which operates a Vlower gear 16 mounted on the shaft 13 and meshing with an upper gear or pinion 17 provided with a shaft or spindle 18 which is mounted in vertically elongated bearing openings 19 of upper spaced bearings 20. The upper spaced bearings are preferably formed integral with the bearing bracket and are located at opposite sid-es of the pinion or gear 17, which meshes with a vertically movable rack bar 21 operating in an upper guide 22 of the bearing bracket and provided with a longitudinal slot 23 through which passes a guide pin 24. The guide pin 24 is mounted in the spaced bearings 2O of the bearing bracket and is also adapted to serve as a convenient fastening device for connecting the terminals of the bearings to prevent spreading of the same. The guide 22 consists of a horizontal arm of the bracket and is composed of spaced sides and conne-cting portions which form an outer guide opening for the rack bar, as clearly illustrated in 4 of the drawings.

The rack bar is provided with an extended lower end 25 to which is suitably connected the lower end of a coiled spring` 26 which is connected at its upper end at 27 to the guide 22. The device is adapted to be .positively operated by a downward movement of one hand of the operator, which carried the rack bar downwardly through the guide 22, thereby rotating the pinion or gear 17 and maintaining during such movement the pinion or gear 17in mesh with the lower pinion or gear 15, and thereby imparting rotary movement to the shaft 13 and rotary movement to the agitator members 7 through the gearing connecting the said agitator members with the shaft 13. This downward movement of the rack bar also distends and places under tension the coiled spring 26 and the latter operates to move the rack bar vertically as the operator relieves the device of pressure. When the rack bar moves upwardly the shaft 18 of the upper pinion or gear 17 is carried to the upper ends of the elongated bearing openings 19 and the said upper pinion or gear 17 is'lifted out of mesh with the lower pinion or gear 15 so that there is no positive actuation of the agitator members during such upward movement of the rack bar. This will enable an exceedingly light spring 26 to be employed for effecting this upward movement of the rack bar, which is instantly returned to its raised position to enable the operator to again actuate the beater by downward pressure of the hand. An easy, effective operation of the beater is thereby secured, and at the same time a rapid continuous forward rotation of the agitator members is obtained, as the momentum of the agitator memberswill cause the same to continue their forward rotation during the upward movement of the rack bar. By this means an easy, rapid operation of the beateris obtained, and as the rotary agitator members are not reversed at the end of each stroke, much greater speed and power is obtained than is the case when the direction of rotation of the agitator members is reversed at the end of each stroke.

The rack bar is provided at. its upper end with a suitable handle 28 which may be of any desired formation. The coil spring 26, which lifts the rack bar, may be connected with the same and with the bearing bracket in any desired manner.

lhat is claimed is:

Y 1. A beater of .the class described, including a rotary agitator member and gearing for imparting a continuous forward rotary movement to the agitator member, including upper and lower intermeshing gears, one of the gears being shiftable into and out of mesh with the other gear, and a reciprocating rack bar meshing with the shiftable Y gear and arranged to hold the said gears in mesh for actuating the agitator member during one movement of the rack bar and capable of moving the shiftable gear out of mesh during the movement of the rack bar in the opposite direction.

2. A beater of the class described, including a rot-ary agitator member and gearing for imparting a continuous forward rotary movement to the agitator member, including upper and lower intermeshing gears, one of the gears being shiftable into and yout of mesh with the other gear, a reciprocating rack bar meshing with the shiftable gear and arranged to hold the said gears in mesh for actuating the agitator member during one movement o-f the lrack bar and capable of moving the shiftable gear out of mesh during the movement of the rack bar in the opposite direction', said rack bar being adapted to be. operated by pressure of the hand in its agitator actuating movement, and a spring connected with the rack bar for automatically moving the same in the opposite direction.

3. A beater of the class described, comprising a bearing bracket, a plurality of rotary beater members carried by the bearing bracket, gearing for connecting the rotary beater members and for imparting a continuous forward rotary movement to the same, said gearing including a pair of upper and lower gears, one of the gears being shiftable to move into and out of mesh with the other gear, a vertically reciprocating rack bar meshing with the shiftable gear and adapted when moved downwardly to hold the shiftable gear in mesh and operate the beater members, and a spring connected with the rack bar and with the bracket for moving the rack bar upwardly, the upward movement of the rack bar operating to carry the shiftable gear out of mesh.

4. An agitator of the class described, including a bearing bracket, rotary agitator members carried by the bearing bracket, gearing for imparting a continuous forward rotary movement to the agitator members including upper and lower gears, the upper gear being shiftable to move into and out of mesh with the lower gear, a vertically reciprocating rack bar meshing with the upper gear and adapted in its downward movement to hold the shiftable gear in mesh for actuating the agitator members, said rack bar being provided with a longitudinal slot, a guidey pin mounted on the bearing bracket and passing through the slot of the rack bar and arranged adjacent the shiftable gear for maintaining the rack bar in mesh with the same, and a spring connectedwith the bearing bracket and with the rack bar for moving the rack bar upwardly, the upward mo-vement of the rack bar carrying the shiftable gear out of mesh.

5. An agitator of the class described, including a bearing bracket, rotary agitator members carried by the bearing bracket, gearing for imparting a continuous forward rotary movement to the agitator members including upper and lower gears, the upper gear being shiftable to move into and out of mesh with the lower gear, a vertically reciprocating rack bar meshing with the upper gear and adapted in its downward movement to hold the shiftable gear in mesh for actuating the agitator members, said rack bar being provided with a longitudinal slot, a guide pin mounted on the bearing bracket and passing through the slot of the rack bar and arranged adjacent the shiftable gear for maintaining the rack bar in mesh with the same, a horizontal guidev carried by the bracket and receiving the rack bar, and a spring connected with the horizontal guide and with the rack bar for moving the latter upwardly, the upward movement of the rack bar operating to carry the shiftable gear out of mesh.

6. A beater of the class described, including a bearing bracket having elongated bearing openings, rotary agitator members carried by the bracket, gearing for imparting a continuous forward rotary movement to the my hand.

THOMAS J. MADIGAN. 

